CAMBODIA

Siam Reap

After yet another night in Bangkok we started the day long journey overland to see the temples of Siam Reap. Typical of tourist operators in Asia, ours was no exception trying desperately to get everyone that didn't have a Cambodian VISA to pay him 1200 baht so that he and his company could sort everything out for us. He assured us that there were always long queues at the border where VISAS were issued and so we wouldn't hold the bus up and other passegers they would get the VISAS sorted for us. Most of the people on the bus paid up, but Olivia and I held out along with a couple from Sweden and two British ladies. Once we got close to the Thai/ Cambodian border we stopped for lunch at the Tour Operators office which was coneveniently situated next to a restaurant. Once there they passed out the appropriate VISA forms for us all to fill out. Then our guide asked me to come into the office and proceeded to tell me that in order for us not to waste time at the border they would offer the same VISA procurement service to those of us that hadn't accepted it yet for 1000 baht instead and that I wasn't to tell the others of this. Suprise, surprise!
When we reached the Thai border it began to pour with rain - great timing aye! We hurried through Thai Immigration and our guide took us to the counter where we could get our VISAS from. There wasn't anyone else in sight and there were big signs over the counter saying TOURIST VISA $20.00 US. So we approached the Customs Official and asked for a TOURIST VISA and he replied 1000 baht ($30 + US). When we asked why it wasn't $20.00 US as the sign said above him he said that if we wanted to pay $20.00 US then the process would take about 4-5 hours. What was so ridiculous about that was the other officers were sitting back with their feet up on the table doing absolutely nothing. Then he said BUT if you pay 1000 baht we can give you the VISA immediately! Talk about blatant corruption or what? So not wanting to hold everyone we up we all paid the inflated price and got our VISAS.
Once through Immigration we boarded a bus that took us to the bus station where we would catch the bus to Siam Reap. The guide on the bus told us all that all the ATMs in Siam Reap were currently down and also that no-one in Siam Reap would accept Thai Baht so it would be a good idea to get money changed in Poipet first before we left.... and guess what - he just so happened to know where a good money excange place was - convenient aye! Of course we went to another one so that we could compare rates and our guide didn't like that too much accusing Olivia and I of not trusting him to which we promptly replied - 'No we don't'.
The road to Siam Reap was dirt pretty much all the way and there were roadworks everywhere. To make matters worse the rain had made it pretty muddy also. When night fell we could see all these fluorescent lights on the side of the road and our guide told us that they were to catch crickets and other bugs that locals ate. The light would attract the insects and the nets would catch them. 5 hours or so later we hit the outskirts of Siam Reap and what an unexpected sight it was. As we passed the exit to the airport we came upon this long road that had the most amazing 5 Star resorts and hotels all along it. This was such a change from what we had just experienced on the way from the border. The bus took us to a hotel called 'Siam Reap Hilton' - but before you get too excited it wasn't of the famous Hilton chain unfortunately! We decided to stay there for 3 nights, especially as our room was only $3.00 US per night for a double room with fan and hot water bathroom and TV. They also offered a free tuk-tuk service to town a 5 minute drive away.
The new day dawned and after a quick breakfast and some negotiations with our driver for the next couple of days - Kang - we agreed that he would drive us around Angkor Wat etc for $10.00 US a day. First stop was to buy our multi-day pass which is a must for seeing the temples. After getting our three day pass we went on what is known as the 'small circuit' which allows you to see a number of the temples that are relatively close together comfortably in a day without having to rush too much. On the way we passed the mighty Angkor Wat and the first glimpses were nothing short of breathtaking. The sight of the massive moat that surrounded it and then coming around the corner to see it finally was something that you have to see to believe. Still recovering from that visual feast we drove through that Eastern Gate of Angkor Thom and arrived at our first stop - Bayon Temple, which is famous for the 'bas-releif' faces that are carved in the rock. What immediately strikes you is the immense size of the blocks that make up this and of course the many other temples in the area. Added to this is the fact that originally they didn’t use any mortar to hold them together and you can’t help but marvel at the engineering brilliance of the people that constructed these wonders.
What is even more incredible is that the stone that was used to build all of the temples in and around Siam Reap was brought here by elephant from the mountains some 5 miles or so away. We left Bayon and went to get the first of our many bottles of water. As soon as you leave any of the temples there is a cacophony of sound from children and stall holders all trying to get you to buy their wares – anything from a vast range of souvenirs, cold drinks and food through to books on any number of topics. They all shout at you at once trying to get you to buy whatever they have to sell. What makes this an even more trying experience is that even though you say ‘no’ any number of times – they still keep trying. They will try and trap you too saying when you finish at the temple you must remember me and if you are going to buy anything you must get it from me!

Once through that gauntlet we walked over to see another temple that was under renovation and caught some children having a swim in a very murky pool. As refreshing as it looked for it was incredibly hot not even that could tempt us to join in the fun! We next went to see the Elephant terraces, which are long terraces that have war elephants carved in many different poses all along them. Next to those were the terraces of the Leper King which goes without saying were amazing also. Our tuk-tuk driver told us to meet him at restaurant 11 so Olivia and I walked over to find him and had to endure the barrage of storeowners and hawkers once again. We were soon to learn that this scene would be repeated time and time again over the next couple of days.
Our driver Kang then drove us out one of the other gates of Angkor Thom to see three more temples that would complete our days circuit. The most impressive of these was Tha Prom that featured in Angelina Jolie’s film Tombraider. Unlike many of the other temples Tha Prom hadn't undergone quite as much extensive restoration and the jungle still claimed many parts of it with massive root systems from huge trees and vines that had overgrown them many centuries earlier. It is truly an illustration of the power of nature and gives an insight into what Angkor Wat and the rest of these magnificent structures must have looked like when re-discovered by French Explorers at last century.

Fianally we went to the goliath of all religious temples – Angkor Wat. It is hard to truly reflect on the magnificence of this place. Trying to explain the splendour and sheer scale of it is nigh on impossible and no list of adjectives can really do it justice. To give an example of how truly colossal it is – the moat that surrounds Angkor Wat covers an area of 3.5 square kilometres and remember that it was all man made without the aid of any modern machinery whatsoever a couple of thousand years ago. Our driver dropped us off at the end of the huge causeway that is the entrance of the temple and the only way to get over the moat. Immediately two carved lions greeted us on either side seemingly guarding the sacred grounds from outsiders. As we walked across we could only stare in awe at what lay ahead and when we finally breached the front entrance way and walked through into the massive courtyard that laid inside the walls we were both at a loss for words. We walked up to the temple passed the big reflection pool out front and up the first flight of stairs that took us into the corridors inside the walls. These were covered in ornate carvings depicting the deeds and battles of Hindu gods. From here we walked up and through many different layers and areas of the temple until we came to the central towers. We then literally climbed the stairs to the top, which were about 70 degrees steep. What makes it even more frightening is that they are very shallow as well so there is not much room for error and it’s a long way down! Once at the top the view was breathtaking and again we were reminded of what an incredible engineering feat had been achieved here. After a rather tense climb down the stairs we grabbed a cold beer from one of the stalls and watched the sunset as our first day came to a close.









Day two took us to 5 more temples and they were all just as amazing as those previous. We decided that Pre Khan was probably our favourite of all and is incidentally second only in size to Angkor Wat. It had an amazing aura about it and the way that the lichens coloured many of its carvings definitely made it stand out. We finished this day with a 10-15min hike up a ‘mountain’ / hill which had a temple at its peak to watch the sunset from here. It had incredible 360-degree views and was a great place to wrap up our temple adventures. Although we had planned to do three days – two proved more than enough as we were beginning to get 'templed out'.

Phnom Penh

The next morning we caught yet another bus to the capital of Cambodia – Phnom Penh. This would prove to be the worst bus ride we had ever had. We ended up sitting in the back row of seats in the very corner that proved very COSY to say the least. What made matters worse was that we were sitting directly over the engine and the floor got so hot that we couldn’t even put out feet down. It was like sitting over a fan heater for most of the 6-hour journey and we couldn’t even feel the air conditioning. Once we arrived we checked into a nice little guesthouse at the Lakeside district and went and had a couple of drinks and dinner at a gorgeous restaurant/ bar called Carabodja. It had only been open for three weeks according to its Swiss owners but the atmosphere was lovely and the meals were amazing. The portions were absolutely HUGE!

We got up nice and early and organised ourselves a tuk-tuk driver to take us around the sights. Our first stop was Tong Selong otherwise known as S-21. Now a museum, this was formerly a school that had been turned into a prison by the Pol Pot led Khmer Rouge regime. It had held many prisoners in its day and stories told of the horrific conditions that they had to endure whilst undergoing torture before being sent to their deaths. In some of the classrooms that had doubled as torture chambers there were pictures on the walls of victims of maimed and disfigured bodies that had been found murdered and left in the beds they were killed in when the prison was liberated. They were haunting as you were standing in the very room that this had happened and the bed was still there. It was a very sad place and one couldn't help but be moved by the photos of the innocent people including children that hung in what were once prison cells but were now galleries.
We then went to what are commonly known as ‘The Killing Fields’ where many of the prisoners of Tong Selong were taken by the truckload to be executed. The most frightening thing of all about this was that in order to conserve ammunition people were bludgeoned to death with tools and then their bodies dumped into mass graves. There is a huge tower there that was built as a memorial for all the people killed there and inside it are the skulls and bones of about 400 or so people. The traumatic way they died was clearly evident and again we couldn't believe that one human being had done this to another. When walking around the site you could still see clothing sticking out of the ground and in some places even human bones. It was an incredibly sobering experience and what's more this had all happened as late as 1978 only 29 years ago. Other tourists were taking photos of the mass graves and bones in the memorial (and in the cells at S-21) but we decided not to out of respect for those that had died in those places.
That afternoon we had fun shopping at the ‘Russian Market’ so named as it used to be the site where you could buy all kinds of Russian weaponry from AK47s to tanks. We got some nice presents and some real cheap DVDs and then headed back to the guesthouse to get packed and ready for the bus ride the next morning to...........

Love from Livi and Tama x